Across the 19 to 21 May, Leeds saw the return of UKREiiF – The UK’s Real Estate Investment & Infrastructure Forum. This is a huge fixture in the calendar for start-ups and more mature businesses working across the Built Environment, and one that we often encourage our start-ups working in PropTech to attend.

This year Geovation Scotland supported a start-up from our programme, GreenFlip, to attend and exhibit at the event. Now, they are reflecting on the experience and why events like this are so critical to understand opportunities and build rapid connections.

A concentrated ecosystem that exceeds expectations 

GreenFlip Co-Founder Amandeep Singh Kalra, and Founder’s Associate Rachel McVeagh, considered UKREiiF critical for their growth.

The event is one of few places that attracts the entire built environment ecosystem to one place, from councils and housing associates, to lenders, investors, developers, utilities and PropTech start-ups. What GreenFlip noticed however is that it isn’t just another networking opportunity. The attendees in the room bring a huge amount of enthusiasm to the event as well as an openness to find solutions that span across sectors.

This creates a potentially unquantifiable amount of value for startups working in the built environment. For GreenFlip, who are building a platform to help property managers, social landlords and energy companies understand the retrofit potential of their portfolio, the team found the wide array of attendees to be a huge opportunity. Reflecting on the experience, they suggest:

The biggest value came from conversations with local authorities, lenders and institutional investors who are actively trying to solve retrofit delivery and financing challenges right now. Speaking to organisations like MHCLG, Lloyds, Barclays, Octopus and multiple councils in the same few days massively accelerated relationship-building and market understanding.

In particular, the team noticed that there was an increased appetite for the retrofitting lifecycle, allowing for great discussions about how to connect retrofit planning, funding and delivery into a single workflow.

How does UKREiiF help start-ups accelerate relationship-building? 

When councils and combined authorities attend not just as observers but as active participants, openly engaging in conversations about delivery challenges, innovation, and collaboration, it significantly lowers the barrier for start-ups seeking to understand and engage with public-sector-led initiatives.

In practice, this means founders can move beyond cold outreach and fragmented introductions. Indeed, one of the biggest advantages of attending UKREiiF is the speed at which relationships can develop. In a typical setting, building connections with key players can take months. At UKREiiF, those same conversations can happen back-to-back, and they offer direct insight into real-world challenges that require immediate solutions, and in the case of GreenFlip and their focus on retrofitting, a solution that integrates the entire lifecycle.

What key trends are shaping the built environment market? 

Events like these also provide the context for where the sector is heading, and what trends and opportunities exist for PropTech start-ups. One of the most significant themes GreenFlip noticed was the shift toward “invest to save” thinking:

…particularly around housing quality, energy efficiency and temporary accommodation pressures. There’s growing recognition that retrofit isn’t just a climate issue but also a health, resilience and financial issue.

This shift is creating new opportunities for start-ups, particularly those working in retrofit, climate tech, and housing innovation, like GreenFlip and others who have been part of our Accelerator Programme. Solutions that provide better visibility, forecasting, or integration across systems are increasingly valued as investors and public bodies look to deploy capital more confidently and at scale.

How can start-ups make the most of events like UKREiiF?

We asked GreenFlip what advice they had for start-ups attending such events, to ensure they maximise the opportunity and increase the return on investment. Their advice was:

• Define your target list: Know who you want to meet before you arrive, especially within local authorities and combined authorities, but remember to leave room for unexpected conversation
• Follow up quickly: Momentum is everything, the value of these opportunities compounds quickly if you follow up fast while the conversations are fresh for everyone
• Understand why attendance matters: Who shows up is often a strong signal of where investment and innovation activity is happening

Should start-ups prioritise UKREiiF? 

Events like UKREiiF are more than networking opportunities, they are accelerators themselves. Start-ups gain the ability to validate problems, test messaging, and build cross-sector relationships at pace, making this kind of access transformative.

For GreenFlip, the team believe that just 3 days attendance at UKREiiF has accelerated their progress by 6-12 months:

The number of stakeholders present in one place dramatically reduced the amount of time normally spent coordinating introductions, meetings and follow-ups individually. It also gave us a much clearer picture of where market momentum is building across retrofit, housing and local government.

For early-stage start-ups, especially those tackling complex, system-level challenges, that kind of opportunity cannot be understated.

Those who attend with both a clear strategy and an openness for conversation are likely to come away with not just contacts, but with clarity on where the market is heading and how they can be part of shaping it.

A huge thank you to Amandeep and Rachel for sharing their thoughts. Be sure to check out GreenFlip and stay connected with them.

Links 

Website: www.greenflip.homes  

GreenFlip LinkedIn: GreenFlip 

Email: hello@greenflip.homes